Some 300 million people worldwide are living with the deadly hepatitis B virus (HBV), but only one in 20 received adequate treatment, researchers reported Tuesday.

For expectant mothers carrying the virus — which can be transmitted to their children — that percentage drops to one in 100, they reported in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology medical journal.

If left untreated, HBV can cause serious diseases of the liver, including cancer.

An estimated 600,000 people die every year from hepatitis-B related liver diseases, making HBV a bigger killer than malaria.

A test for HBV has been available since the early 1970s, but only one in ten sufferers worldwide have been diagnosed.

The virus is highly contagious via infected blood or other body fluids and is mainly transmitted from mothers to their infants, or between children.

There is no cure, but antiviral drugs have proven effective in coping with symptoms.
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